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Christening: 26 JAN 1759 By Mr. William Dalrymple; witnesses: John Tennant, James Young

Death: 21 JUL 1796 in Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland

Burial: Saint Michael's Churchyard, Scottland

Occupation: Poet, Farmer, Exciseman

Religion: Unitarian (philosophically)

Note:

aka Rabbie, Robbie

SCOTLAND'S GREATEST POET

Known as "the Ploughman Poet", Robert was descended from the Burness family of Kincardineshire, Scotland, where his ancestors were tenant farmers. His father William moved to Ayrshire in 1750 where Robert was born in a humble cottage. His birthplace has since become a center of pilgrimage for lovers of his poetry. Robert Burns had a total of twelve children by four women, including nine by his wife Jean Armour. The publishing of his "Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" in 1786 made him an instant success, yet he achieved far more fame after his death than during his lifetime.

Robert changed the spelling of his last name from Burness to Burns in 1786.

A Man's a Man for A' ThatBy Robert Burns, 1795

Is there for honest povertyThat hings his head, an a' that?The coward slave, we pass him by -We dare be poor for a' that!For a' that, an a' that!Our toils obscure, an a' that,The rank is but the guinea's stamp,The man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,Wear hodding grey, an a' that?Gie fools their skills, and knaves their wine -A man's a man for a' that.For a' that, an a' that,Their tinsel show, an a' that,The honest man, tho e'er sae poor,Is king o men for a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may(As come it will for a' that),That Sense and Worth o'er a' the earth,Shall bear the gree an a' that.For a' that, an a' that,It's coming yet for a' that,That man to man, the world, o'erShall brithers be for a' that.

SCOTS WHA HAEby Robert Burns

'Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,Welcome tae your gory bed,Or tae Victorie!'Now's the day, and now's the hour:See the front o' battle lour,See approach proud Edward's power -Chains and Slaverie!'Wha will be a traitor knave?Wha will fill a coward's grave?Wha sae base as be a slave?Let him turn and flee!'Wha, for Scotland's king and law,Freedom's sword will strongly draw,Freeman stand, or Freeman fa',Let him on wi' me!'By Oppression's woes and pains!By your sons in servile chains!We will drain our dearest veins,But they shall be free!'Lay the proud usurpers low!Tyrants fall in every foe!Liberty's in every blow! -Let us do or dee!'

Too long away from the mooringMy journey tides the oceanAn epic for the bard

I cannot beg to know my kinOr speak that ancient tongueBut I do listen, and I do hear

And I can feel in the pass of soulThe kindred tie that binds usGive me your hand upon the breeze, Rabbie

Time drifting like a featherThough far away, and far apartWe'll rest our dreams in Scotland's arms

And play our songs together.

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FROM UUA.ORG:

[Robert Burns] is celebrated by the Unitarians of Scotland as a religious forbear... As a young man Burns made a study of local religious phenomena and read with interest such liberal theological works as The Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin Proposed to Free and Candid Examination, 1740, by the English proto-Unitarian John Taylor. He admired two Ayrshire clergymen, William McGill and William Dalrymple, who held Arian views ("preaching that three's ane and twa," as Burns put it) and had connections with the English Unitarians Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey. Burns, known as "Rab the Ranter," inflicted his heretical religious views on his neighbours, some of whom shunned him as a result.

In 1780 Burns founded a debating society, the Tarbolton Bachelor's Club. Among the subjects discussed were "Whether do we derive more happiness from Love or Friendship?" and "Whether is the savage man or the peasant of a civilised country in the most happy situation?" According to the constitution, which Burns wrote, "Every man proper for a member of this society, must have a frank, honest, open heart; above any thing dirty or mean; and must be a professed lover of one or more of the female sex."

Burns never joined a Unitarian Church or any particular religious faction. Of large spirit, he was an eighteenth-century Scottish equivalent of the English Rational Dissenter or a New England Congregationalist Arminian. Like the God of William Ellery Channing , Burns's deity was an "object of our reverential awe and grateful adoration" from whose "divine promise" no one is excluded save by themselves. God is "almighty, and all bounteous" and Jesus Christ, "a great Personage." Burns believed that in the end it is the quality of our lives which counts. He summed his faith in Jamie Dean's grace: "Lord, grant that we may lead a gude life; for a gude life makes a gude end; at least it helps weel!"

WHAT IS UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM? by Larry Overmire, Jul 2007:

Unitarian Universalism as it is practiced today is an inclusive faith without dogma. Much in the tradition of America's Founding Fathers, UU's advocate "freedom of conscience" and "separation of church and state," believing that every person is on his or her own very personal spiritual journey, which ought to be respected. In UU congregations, you might well find a very diverse group of people who come from a wide background of varying religious tradition, whether it be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Shinto, Atheist, Agnostic, Native American, Wiccan or other Earth-centered philosophies. What UU's do agree on are 7 basic principles, stated on the UUA Website as follows:

1) The inherent worth and dignity of every person2) Justice, equity and compassion in human relations3) Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations4) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning5) The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all7) Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources of faith which provide a solid foundation for the spiritual growth of the religious community (again, as stated in the UUA Website):

1) Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life2) Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love3) Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life4) Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves5) Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.6) Spiritual teachings of earth-entered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

"Genealogy of Fast, Shriver, Burns, Scott, McKibben, Including Descendants of Revolutionary War Veteran Christian Fast," by Laurence Overmire, RootsWeb World Connect Project, 2000-2015. Notes on this website are authored by Laurence Overmire unless noted otherwise, and may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission. PLAGIARISM IS AGAINST THE LAW. Anyone copying authored material from this website without permission is subject to prosecution.

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